Riverkeeper to sue over Tappan Zee dredging, sturgeon monitoring

Sep. 25, 2013

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An environmental group plans to sue the New York State Thruway Authority, claiming the agency is improperly dredging material from the Hudson River’s bottom during the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge and not monitoring endangered sturgeon in the river as required.

Riverkeeper on Wednesday filed a notice of intent to sue the Thruway Authority; Tappan Zee Constructors, the consortium building the bridge; and one of its contractors, alleging violations of the permit issued by the state Department of Environmental Conservation for the bridge construction. The permit is designed to protect life in the river.

Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson agreed this year to support the project after the state increased an environmental mitigation fund by $2 million, to $10 million. But their backing didn’t prevent them from going to court if they felt the permit was being ignored, the groups said.

“(We) assured the public that we would watchdog this project, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Riverkeeper attorney Phillip Musegaas said.

The DEC said the permit is “fully protective of the river.” The agency also said it’s addressing the sturgeon monitoring issue.

“It would be unfortunate if the parties are constrained to invest considerable resources on legal matters, even though no available data suggests that the present barge loading practices are having any adverse impact on water quality,” DEC spokesman Peter Constantakes said.

The permit requires the dredging operator to swing the crane’s bucket from the river to the barge in a continuous motion. In its legal papers, Riverkeeper cites 43 occasions when it said the bucket dangling over the river, allowing water and sediment to pour back into the Hudson, most recently on Sept. 15. Such a practice harms aquatic life, according to Riverkeeper’s filing. The operation has improved in recent days, Riverkeeper said.

Tappan Zee Constructors also needs to place receivers in the river to pick up transmissions from sonic tags in sturgeon. Those are only “partially in place,” Musegaas said.

The state permit for the project allows two Atlantic sturgeon and two shortnose sturgeon to be killed during construction. Both are listed as endangered species.

At least five dead sturgeon have been found since April near the bridge, according to Daniel Wolff of Clarkstown, who is compiling a list. Decay made it impossible to determine the causes of the deaths, officials said. The state received reports of 12 dead sturgeon along the river last year and 22 through August.